


Like Real People Do

by TheSinsOfAnAngel



Series: After The Fact [4]
Category: Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
Genre: Awkward first dates, Chess, Chess in Concert (2008), Domestic, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kennedy Center Chess (2018), M/M, Not Beta Read, a little ooc tbh, ah well, and i dont like it tbh, huh, i never get any better at tagging fics, i think i am just barely pushing the boundary of what is considered ooc, thats it, thats the whole fic, they cant all be winners, this is messy, this is pure self indulgence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSinsOfAnAngel/pseuds/TheSinsOfAnAngel
Summary: Anatoly pushed the item gently away from his face and took it in his hands, still speechless. He shook it slightly and watched the glitter flutter around in the fluid. A relationship built on everything they had been through was bound to be difficult, but in a moment like this he knew that there was no person he would rather spend his time with. Who else would buy him a tacky snow globe based off of one conversation? It was absurd, and so delightfully Freddie that he could cry.------OR: The one where they go on their first real date.
Relationships: Anatoly Sergievsky/Frederick Trumper
Series: After The Fact [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1425700
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	Like Real People Do

**Author's Note:**

> Hey yall! Uni is kicking my ass so I decided to take a break and indulge in my favourite chess idiots. Check the end notes for my thoughts and updates. Enjoy!

It was a fairly boring Thursday night. Anatoly was doing a crossword puzzle on the couch and Freddie was trying to piece together a story to send to his news company for the week. By all means, they were menial tasks done purely for the sake of wasting time. Which is why it was very confusing how the idea popped into his mind, or why he felt the need to speak it out loud.

“You know that we’ve never gone on a date?”

Anatoly dropped the newspaper and twisted around to face his companion, “huh?” 

“A date. We haven’t gone on one.”

“We’ve had dinner together.”

“That isn’t the same, how am I supposed to charm you over boxed pasta?”

“I’m here aren’t I?” Anatoly smiled blithely, “Consider me charmed.”

“You make it so hard to do things for you, you know that? I’m trying to take you out.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be quiet. Go on and ask me.”

“Will you go on a date with me?” 

“I don’t know...I may have to think about it first.”

The pencil thrown at his head was well worth the joke. 

\---

It was three days later when the two found themselves seated across from each other at a restaurant that was fancier than anything they had seen in a long time. Ironically, it was an Italian place which Freddie found hilarious.  _ “Now I can charm you over real pasta”. _

Good company, good food, the only thing that was missing was conversation which had seemingly flown out the window as soon as they sat down. 

Yep. It was officially the most awkward date either of them had been on. How are you supposed to get to know someone you already know intimately? 

Their job? Anatoly was living off of his savings and Freddie knew this. 

Their hobbies? Well, that one was pretty obvious.

“I think I know everything about you,” Freddie’s voice confessed quietly. 

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Alright seriously, there has got to be  _ something  _ we haven’t talked about yet. Is there anything really weird that you’ve been hiding from me?”

“If there was, why would I tell you?”

“What if I promise to tell you something weird about me in return?” 

Anatoly considered this and nodded, “Alright I’ll play. I don’t think this is very odd or anything but when I was a child I liked to collect snow globes. By the time I got bored of the habit I had around, say, seventy or so. There you go.”

Freddie’s jaw was slack for a concerning amount of time. Concerning because it couldn’t be comfortable and concerning because Anatoly was feeling a bit weirder about his habit than he had been before. 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m not judging you just...wow. Where did you even put them all?”

“I don’t know around the house, in the basement, and I’m sure my family may have gotten rid of some without me knowing. Why does it matter?” Correction: Anatoly was feeling  _ a lot  _ weirder about his collection than he was before. He’s sure his face was completely red at this point.

“No, no you’re right, I’m sorry for teasing you. My turn now I guess. Um, okay, I always count to sixty four before bed. That’s pretty weird right? Anyways, did your family ever stage an intervention for your snow globe addiction?” 

Anatoly leaned his head back in exasperation, “Can we please drop the subject now? I’d like to go back to the awkward silence.”

Thankfully their dinner had just been delivered to their table and Freddie was distracted by trying (and failing) to charm Anatoly with cheesy pick up lines.

\---

Night had fallen and while both men were fine with calling it a day and going home, there was something going on across the street that caught their eye when they left the restaurant. With further investigation it was revealed to be apparently some sort of night market that had been set up for a charity event. 

“Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever gone to one of these.”

“Oh really? My mom used to like them,” Freddie grimaced at the reminder of his family and changed the discussion direction, “Do you want to look around?”

Anatoly shrugged indifferently. It wouldn’t kill him to indulge in a moment of spontaneous window shopping, and besides, he liked walking around with Freddie. It was normal, which they certainly were not.

The vendors were selling a variety of things, many of which made Anatoly’s fingers twitch. He couldn’t justify spending any money on the useless trinkets though, so he was content to admire them only. He was about to point out a particularly nice one when he spun around and noticed that Freddie was gone. Even more terrifying was the realization that he was nowhere in sight. Which was impressive, considering the fact that he was wearing the brightest and whitest jacket known to man. Just as Anatoly was about to start losing his mind, he was tapped on the shoulder. 

The sight was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever seen. Freddie was holding a snow globe right up to Anatoly’s face, which was embarrassing enough in front of the public eye, but the worst part was the globe itself. 

It was lit up with lights from the base as well as on the inside, and sitting right in the middle was a red bear holding a little heart that was engraved with the words  _ ‘I Love You Beary Much’.  _ It was tacky, and ridiculous, and unnecessary, and Anatoly’s heart was the fullest it had been in a long time. 

“I saw it and thought of your little secret. I always thought the five snow globes you had sitting on the mantle were a lot, but  _ seventy? _ Wow. Well, now you can call yourself the proud owner of seventy  _ one  _ snow globes.” 

Anatoly pushed the item gently away from his face and took it in his hands, still speechless. He shook it slightly and watched the glitter flutter around in the fluid. A relationship built on everything they had been through was bound to be difficult, but in a moment like this he knew that there was no person he would rather spend his time with. Who else would buy him a tacky snow globe based off of one conversation? It was absurd, and so delightfully Freddie that he could cry. 

“You don’t have to keep it if you don’t want to, I just thought it was kinda funny,” Freddie started, embarrassment inherent in his voice.

“No, of course I’m keeping it, I love it.” 

“Do you love it  _ Beary Much? _ ” 

“Oh shut up,” Anatoly laughed and shook his head, “We really should be leaving though, or else I might just snap and buy a few more snow globes.” 

“Right behind you, it’s freezing out here anyways.” 

As they walked away from the night market, Anatoly’s hands were full. One with his new mantle piece, and the other intertwined with Freddie’s. 

He decided that as far as first dates go, this one wasn't half bad.

**Author's Note:**

> okay so tbh i dont love this one? i know i say that about everything i post but this just felt meh the whole time i was writing it. 
> 
> a few things:  
> 1) i established in another fic that anatoly likes collecting things. the problem? that fic isnt finished and hasnt been posted. i feel like this makes more sense when you understand that anatoly collects things bc its something he can control that is purely for pleasure.  
> 2) the characterization feels off. im more used to writing these two as angsty/upset and emotionally constipated. its hard to write them as just happy and fluffy. but im trying asdfghjkl  
> 3) i have another fic in the works (the one i referred to in my last fic) that i am really vibing with but it is nowhere close to being done. tbh i kinda lost the direction i was going with it but if anyone wants to volunteer to read it and give me ideas....*eye emoji*  
> 4) OH ALSO does anyone have a b**tleg of the 2020 japan revival? im asking...for a friend. yeah. a friend. 
> 
> i think that's all i have to say for today!  
> feel free to follow me on instagram and tumblr @cremeriie


End file.
